


In Between

by mlp_buttons



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: Anxiety, Awesome Don, Emotional Judy, F/M, Morning Wood, Panic Attacks, Spoilers for Season 1, Tents, emotional avoidance, in between scenes, some fluffy stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 06:21:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14949263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlp_buttons/pseuds/mlp_buttons
Summary: This is going to be a collection of one-shots for Netflix's Lost in Space. They will mainly focus around Judy/Don because I LOVE them and, let's be honest, they need more fics!I chose to rate this M because there will eventually be mature themes.I'm also taking prompts for anything you guys want to throw at me. I'll see what I can do to fulfill your fantasy. Hehehe.Fic 1 Summary: Judy has a panic attack. Don helps out.





	In Between

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ya'll!
> 
> *waves*
> 
> It's been awhile since I've written anything so I'm a bit rusty. But, I absolutely love the new Lost in Space series and Judy/Don make me smile. There are not enough fics for these two so I decided to write this little diddy that has been floating around in my head for a few weeks. 
> 
> Things you need to know for this collection: 1) I've taken the liberty to extend the amount of time they stay on the alien planet to fit my needs. Most fics will be given extra time in between events. So.... just go with it plz. 2) These stories will be of various things happening in between the main story line events. I will not be rehashing the whole show, but bits and pieces may need to be rehashed. 3) The relationship between Judy and Don is central to all of these fics, so don't expect much else. And there will be sexual situations... eventually (I promise). 4) I'm slow at updating because it takes me forever to revise and I'm picky. So, it's all me, I'm unbeta'd, but stick around because there will be more! 5) THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 1. You've been warned.
> 
> This fic is set in between episodes 6 and 7. I've taken the liberty of giving everyone their own private tent. xo

Judy knew that it all started during the trip to reclaim fuel from Don's crashed Jupiter. The day had been adrenaline filled, full of revelations – “Dr. Smith” – and what her dad would call character building events. She smiled to herself remembering how surprisingly fun it was to stick out of the emergency escape hatch on their Chariot. Don and the others had goaded her into it, but she was glad she had given in to their persistence.

Thinking of Don reminded her of how angry she had been after finding out that he had put everyone's lives at risk. However, the anger had quickly dissipated into bone-chilling fear remembering the events that followed. Judy prided herself on being tough, but she honestly thought Don had gone over the cliff-face along with the Jupiter. The memory of Don disconnecting the line that attached her Chariot to the space ship caused the fear to clinch tighter and her breath to catch. And that's when she realized that she could handle anything... except emotions. Especially _her_ emotions. She wasn't a mean person, she knew she was warm and caring with her family and friends. She'd had boyfriends back on Earth with whom she never had any issues expressing how she felt. But, there was something about Don that had woken new feelings inside of her. Something careless that she was afraid to follow. So, when caring suddenly took a sharp turn to.... well, _more_... she was unprepared and tended to let the scientific part of her brain take over. Then, when logically picking apart her emotions failed, she turned to avoidance. And she was deep into avoidance.

Judy peeked at Don through her lashes. He was sitting across from her and was laughing at something Peter said. She allowed herself to take in his smile before turning her attention to the rest of the group. Despite their unfamiliar surroundings, everyone was in good spirits and dinner was a lively affair around a campfire. Don told stories that made Victor roll his eyes and the rest of the crew laugh. Diane was surprisingly good at juggling and Evan strummed a makeshift guitar that produced enough melody for them to attempt a few songs. Judy was reminded of camping with her family when she was younger. Except, in this case, it was an alien planet, everyone had their own small tent and a perimeter was set around their camp site in the event foreign creatures became too curious.

After one of the strings broke on Evan's guitar, they called it a night and Judy made her way to her tent. She knew that tomorrow her and Don would have to figure out how to handle the Dr. Smith situation, but for now she just wanted to sleep. Sleep and avoid her feelings for as long as possible. Snug in her sleeping bag, tiredness took over and she drifted off.

*****

Hours later, Don woke to the sounds of harsh breathing. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he instantly knew two things: 1. The noise was coming from Judy’s tent and, 2. The sounds were not of the sneak-into-your-bed-after-everyone-is-asleep variety.

Don’s brain kicked into overdrive when he realized that Judy was having a panic attack. He wormed out of his sleeping bag, practically falling through the door in his haste. He headed straight for Judy's tent, stumbling blearily over rocks that were determined to sprain an ankle or two.  “Judy!” He reached for the zipper on the door flap. “I’m coming in!”

Just as he began pulling on the zipper the screams started.

A chill went down his spine and goosebumps erupted over his skin as he made his way inside, not waiting for her to answer. He heard the others stirring but focused his attention on the shivering girl in front of him. She was sitting forward with her hands holding her head and her eyes tightly shut, legs pulled up in front of her. Don didn’t want to startle her, so he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Judy," he said firmly. "Judy, can you hear me?" He repeated himself over and over in different variations of 'you're safe' and 'it was just a nightmare' and 'I'm here.' At one point he stuck his head out of the tent to let an impatient Victor know that she was not injured, just suffering from a bad dream and to please bring some water.  Don continued to speak to Judy in a firm, but calm voice until the screams stopped and the gasping slowed. Judy eventually opened her red-rimmed eyes and met his. He could see that whatever haunted her was slowly fading away.

As the last bit of cloudiness left her eyes, she leaned forward and placed her hands on either side of his face as if to ensure he were real. Don was so shocked that he froze. 

"Don?" she gasped.

"Yeah," he said, snapping out of it. "I'm here. Everything's okay."

Another few gasps reminded him that she still needed help calming down. He took her hands in his as he instructed her to take deep breaths, leading by example and giving soft encouragement. Soon, Judy's breath evened out and she folded herself against his chest. Don was unsure if wrapping his arms around her was right, but it felt like that was what she needed. And she melted further into him, which was nice and very emotionally confusing.

"Thanks," she whispered, wiping the tears off her exposed cheek.

Don squeezed her tight before letting go to hand her the water.

*****

Judy slowly sat up, embarrassed and trying to hide it by taking small sips of water. "Thanks," she said again, not sure if she was thanking him for the water or the support or maybe both.

"You don't have to thank me," he said and then added softly. "I had a family member who had pretty severe panic attacks."

He didn't elaborate and Judy decided not to ask. 

"I'm sorry about your shirt," she said after noticing that his shirt had large wet patches from where she had been crying against him.

Don looked down and chuckled. "I think my shirt will make it." He slowly looked back up at her and asked gently, "What about you? Do you want to talk about it?"

Judy held his gaze for a few seconds before looking down, beginning with, "I was trapped in ice." Her voice was soft as she explained where the Robinson's had crashed, how she jumped into the water so that Will didn't have to, how she had to go the long way around and through the Jupiter to retrieve a spare battery. Her voice began to waver when she explained how the water began to freeze around her upon ascent. How it felt like swimming through slush and mud.

Judy felt her breathing begin to increase. Apparently, Don noticed and placed a hand on her arm, squeezing softly. "You don't have to keep going," he quietly reminded her.

She shook her head, took a deep breath to help control her breathing, and finished her story. She needed to. After all, she had never told anyone what she went through down there. Not even Penny. Judy wasn't sure why she was telling Don. She wasn't even sure why she felt comfortable telling Don. But, she did. So, she finished telling him how she couldn't swim fast enough and the ice had frozen around her. She recounted how she was only a foot from reaching the surface and could just make out the shadows of her family above. She told him about the paralyzing fear, the knowledge that she would run out of air and the pure terror that swept through her when her dad came back with magnesium only for it to begin raining – destroying their efforts to save her. 

Tears slowly ran down her cheeks as she remembered the feeling of hope being ripped away. She recalled how the Robot saved her by melting the ice and pulling her out of the frozen lake. How her whole body thrummed with pain because every part of her had fallen asleep. And how she had been having nightmares ever since.

*****

Judy's voice trailed off, signaling the end of her story. Silence encapsulated them, broken only by infrequent sobs and sniffling. Don pulled her back against his chest and she clung tightly to one of his arms. He knew the suffocating feeling of almost dying. He shut his eyes, remembering his own near-death experiences.

"Starts the pounding of blood in your ears, right?" he whispered, echoing her own words as he pressed his forehead against the top of her head.

He felt her relax slightly against him, then whisper back, "Louder and louder..." 

She didn't finish the sentence as she shifted to look at him. Their gazes met and held. She was looking at him so inquisitively that he felt like she was searching his soul for an answer he didn't know the question to. But, there was some emotion stirring behind her eyes and he couldn't look away. 

"Will you stay, please?" she asked, quietly. 

Don was surprised by the request and his automatic response would have been "no", because there was no way this was appropriate and John would surely kill him if he found out.... but, how could he not stay? How could he say no to her? He couldn't. So, he said yes. 

They zipped the door and arranged themselves the best they could with a tent and sleeping bag made for one. He ended up awkwardly half in and half out of the covers, but that was fine since he tended to run hot. Judy settled in with her back against his chest and Don had a silent argument with himself about where to put his free arm. He finally gave in and put his arm around her – firmly enough to provide comfort, but not restricting. 

Don's mind briefly flitted to the others. But, he figured at this point they had wandered back to their own tents since he no longer heard any movement outside. Don took a deep breath, getting a whiff of flowery shampoo, and refocused on the girl in his arms. It was nice to be pressed against another person. He told himself this was innocent - just helping a friend. But, it had been awhile since he had any sort of prolonged physical contact and he wanted to savor the moment. Even if he knew it couldn't last.

He felt Judy's breath even out as she fell asleep. It took him longer to feel tired enough to try, but before he shut his eyes he felt her hand come up to cover his. He knew that she was asleep and the gesture was unintentional, but he couldn't help a tightness in his chest. Judy was intelligent and bull-headed and just plain difficult most of the time, but she had sparked something deep inside him that had been buried. She had a vulnerable side hidden underneath the way she presented herself to the world and it spoke to his own vulnerabilities.

He hated himself for it, but he took his feelings and shoved them far away. That was dangerous territory and there was enough danger in his life at the moment. He didn't want feelings to complicate things. With a long sigh, and knowing that he was only fooling himself, Don closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

*****

Judy slowly woke, feeling warm and safe with Don's arm around her. She could feel that they had shifted in their sleep and were now molded to each other. Her back curved along his chest and stomach, while her butt.... well, it was pressed into his groin and she could firmly feel the outline of him. Swallowing hard, she reminded herself that she was a doctor and could handle this. After all, it was just a function of the human body and it was perfectly normal. 

_Perfectly normal,_  she thought to herself while also giving into panic because doctor or not she had never been in this situation before. Was there a protocol she needed to follow?

Her only sexual experience was more of an experiment than romantic. Not that she considered this romantic, she quickly reminded herself. This was purely a friend helping a friend situation that just happened to end up with them sleeping together… in a platonic sense. Judy decided that she had only achieved in confusing herself further, so she made up her mind to slowly shift her body away from his. She quickly learned that this only resulted in rubbing against him, making the situation more awkward, so she stopped moving.

When Don sighed in his sleep, Judy went perfectly still. She felt him move his head so it touched hers and the feel of his warm breath ghosting over her neck made Judy want to turn around in his arms. At this point, her emotions were so tangled she found the idea extremely appealing. But, as much as she wanted to give in, the sky was beginning to lighten and everyone would soon be up. She finally came to the conclusion that simply sitting up would be the most straightforward approach to this situation. She would make enough noise to wake Don, too. And she wouldn't mention the erection. Ever. That would be too embarrassing.

Judy braced herself to move his arm, but Don let out another sigh and rolled onto his back. She pretended to be asleep as the rush of cold that took his place brought her tangled feelings back to the surface, so she quickly balled them up and shoved them away. She felt him quietly stretch and then suddenly stop with a murmured 'fuck.' She presumed the shuffling sounds where him rearranging himself. Judy continued to hold still as he pulled his boots on and quietly unzipped the door. She felt Don look at her one more time before leaving the tent.

Judy continued to remain still when she heard another crunch of gravel and the voice of Victor address Don, "Have a nice night?"

She imagined Don's are-you-serious-right-now expression as he levelly responded, "It's really not your business."

Judy couldn't help the wide smile that crossed her face as she heard Don make his way back to his tent. She sat up, feeling rested in a way she hadn't felt since they crashed on this planet. She knew she had Don to thank for that. Lightly biting her lower lip, Judy allowed the small stirrings in her chest to resurface and settle into place. She wasn't exactly sure what they meant, but she promised herself that she would examine them soon. For now, she let them be and got ready for the day.

*****

Don knew that he was screwed on their third night back. He had stayed up the first night, expecting Judy to call over the com. The day of their return had been horrible and tragic and he had been fully prepared to drive to the Jupiter 2 to help her chase away nightmares. But, the call never came. He was both relieved on her behalf - hopefully she was having a peaceful night – but also disappointed. They had not spoken about the night in the tent, aside from her thanking him and him saying it really wasn't a big deal. Emotional avoidance was one his greatest strengths, after all. But, he had managed to make her promise to call him anytime – even if it was in the middle of the night. And she had, with what he thought was sincerity, promised that she would. Then she quickly hugged him and before he had a chance to respond she was off. He’d only seen glimpses of her since.

When his com buzzed to life, late on that third night, Don’s heart jumped and he let a little of those emotions peek out of the darkness where he had firmly shoved them. He hadn’t signed up for this job expecting anything more than money. He hadn’t even been looking for anything more. So, he was completely unprepared for Judy Robinson and the way she constantly challenged him. The way she’d been open and honest and opinionated and _real_ with him. How she infuriated him in ways he had never experienced. And when Judy’s voice, trembling over the com device, asked him to come over, Don did the only thing he could… he said yes.

**Author's Note:**

> Well.... there it is. Hope you enjoyed! I'm having fun with all of the emotional avoidance. At this rate it's going to take them forever to get together! Luckily, I'm not doing this in order. ^_^
> 
> If anyone has a prompt throw it at me and I'll see what I can do. Love to you all!


End file.
